


Seeing Red

by watsky



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Red String of Fate, Soulmates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-22
Updated: 2018-04-22
Packaged: 2019-04-26 04:57:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,439
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14394777
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/watsky/pseuds/watsky
Summary: History repeats itself, and Genji has a big question he needs answered.





	Seeing Red

As he lies dying on the ground, his brothers words ringing in his ears, his watery eyes wander, taking in the sights. His breathing is shallow and quick, and he struggles to try and move something, _anything_ , with no response from his limbs. Unable to move, he can only stare at what's around him. He's never seen the world like this before-- and it's not just from lying on the ground in Hanamura.

First, he notices strange lights through the tears in his eyes. He blinks, tears rolling down his cheeks, and some lights take the form of people. Ghosts, they must be. Spirits. Other lights are simply wisps, balls of light that follow the living. Souls? Guardian angels? He doesn't know. He doesn't care. He'll find out soon, he's sure. The more he blinks, the more he can see. The red tinge to everything isn't blood, he realizes.

It's string.

Many strings, woven in a tapestry above him, reaching in all directions; they're long, much longer than the eye can see.

New voices cut through the crowd of people around him, and new light, softer and warmer, approaches him. His body pain starts to wane, just a bit, and the fingertips of his left hand start to tingle. He has feeling. Thank _God_ , he has feeling. A blonde woman kneels beside him, checking his vitals. The tingling in his fingers spreads up his arm, just enough for him to twitch. He pushes his luck, trying to lift his hand so he can see it. Blood trickles down his arm, off his hand, dripping onto his face as he finally brings it up above him. There, tied around his ring finger, is string. He painstakingly turns his hand to look at it, and the string seems to clip through his fingers, to stay in the same direction. He can't feel it, he's never felt it. How did it get there?

"Genji? Mr. Shimada?"

His eyes roll to the source of the sound. The blonde woman makes eye contact with him, eyebrows furrowed with worry, but eyes kind.

"My name is Dr. Angela Ziegler."

* * *

He keeps his eyes on the string around his finger. It's in a straight line, no matter which way he turns, no matter where he is. He crossed oceans to receive treatment for his injuries, and yet the string stays in one straight line. He watches it often when he tries to sleep. It seems to turn of its own accord, pivoting on his finger, slowly changing directions, as though something on the other end is on the move. While the lights have long since faded, the string he can still see. Though, the longer he stays with Overwatch, and the more he trains, the less he can see it. By the time he's recruited into Blackwatch, it's gone.

He hates his new body. The hatred of himself leads him to withdraw from the rest of his teammates. They learned fast to leave him alone; Commander Reyes greets him in the hallways, or the training rooms, but that's about it. O'Deorain doesn't care-- she's only the field doctor for him, so he doesn't see her often. He has frequent check ups and tune ups with Dr. Ziegler, and she's always friendly, but Genji hates that. He hates _her_. 

When the new agent joins, Genji doesn't greet him. The feeling seems mutual for the first few weeks. The new guy, Jesse McCree, came from a gang and was... _coerced_ into joining Blackwatch. He seems, from afar, to be just as jaded and antisocial as Genji is. The longer he stays, however, the more at home he becomes, and he opens up. Unlike the others, McCree seems to make a point of including Genji once he's gotten comfortable, trying to start conversations and treating Genji like a long time friend. On the surface, Genji hates himself. Deep down he does, too. However, even _deeper_ down, he appreciates what Jesse's trying to do. The more they work together, the more Genji comes to respect him as a teammate. Even though he's quiet and reserved, he still responds to McCree when he asks questions, or strikes up a conversation. He doesn't consider him a friend, but he's the closest thing to a friend he's got in Blackwatch.

* * *

"Genji? Genji Shimada?"

McCree lifts his cowboy hat to get the shade out of his eyes, so he can see better. He's surprised to see his old teammate; Genji can tell by the sound of his voice that he wasn't expecting to see him.

They pick up where they left off, with a twist. McCree loves Genji's new attitude, and as they catch up, he can't help but notice how much has changed about him Everything about Genji is brighter and happier; his voice has much more inflection and enthusiasm, his body language is less closed off, even his armor is a lighter colour. The silver and green looks good on him. He's lost in thought, and yet still poring over Genji's every word.

"You're so different now, Genji. Y'ain't the same guy I knew all those years ago."

"I am a changed man, McCree." Genji pauses for a brief moment. "... McCree, I was unfair to you in Blackwatch. I did not consider you a friend, because I was too caught up in self-loathing. If you would have me, I would like the chance to be your friend properly this time.

"... Y'know what? I'd like that, Genji. I'd be more than happy ta' call you friend. And hey, if we're friends, y'can call me Jesse."

And so he did-- quite often, in fact. Genji's more than happy to keep in contact with his friend, and even happier to meet in person. They meet up often, whenever their paths align. They find themselves wanting to align their paths more and more often, stopping to eat at restaurants and staying in hotels for a few days so they can continue to hang out. Eventually, they start sharing hotel rooms; some time after their first kiss, they start sharing a bed.

* * *

As he lies dying on the ground, Jesse's anguished crying of his name ringing in his ears, his dazed eyes stare motionless up at the sky. Red strings. Red strings criss-crossing the heavens above him, just like the last time he knocked at death's door. He barely notices Jesse sliding on his knees to get to his side, dragging him to safety. He holds Genji, desperately trying to rouse him.

This time, Genji knows what the red strings mean. He had shaken it off as just brain injury, trauma, something along those lines before. He hadn't cared to look into it, but after meeting Zenyatta and coming to accept himself, he revisited the visions he saw when he was dying before. The red string of fate, the concept of a marker that connects soulmates together. He knows now that each string he had seen before, the millions that crossed the world, signaled the destiny of two souls. He wonders, now remembering the string of his very own, who it connects to.

Mercy finds them, flying over to Genji like his own guardian angel. Jesse had called for her, and she wasted no time in coming to the aide of her teammates. Once he regains control of his limbs, he glances down at the string around his own ring finger. A straight line, extending forward, just like before. He follows the string with his eyes, watching it pivot back and forth, as though his soulmate is pacing around in their room. He lifts his head, tears his eyes away from the string, and sees Jesse pacing in front of him, waiting anxiously for Mercy to finish healing him. He straightens up, realization dawning on him, and instantly regrets it, still sore. He waves off Mercy's worries when she asks for the reason behind the sudden movement. Dropping his eyes to the string once more, he follows it with his eyes again, this time staring down the string to Jesse's ring finger.

A warmth floods his heart. For the longest time, he's loved Jesse, and he's known that his love was true. Yet he worried, thinking that perhaps they weren't meant to be together. Paranoia set in when they started dating, and Genji frequently worried about whether they were meant to be together, or if his soulmate lay elsewhere. Now... now he doesn't need to worry. Mercy departs to heal others, and his heart soars, refusing to come back down. The man he loves is his destiny. Which begs the question...

"Jesse McCree, will you marry me?"

**Author's Note:**

> I felt like writing a McGenji fic after joining a McGenji server, and this was an AU suggestion I got!


End file.
